Feature Film
The Frighteners
1996
Filmed In
Canterbury · Wellington
Towns & Areas
Lyttelton · Wellington city streets
The Story
A delightfully campy, cult-classic supernatural comedy-horror. A fraudulent psychic investigator who can actually talk to ghosts finds himself up against a malicious, Grim Reaper-like entity that is murdering both the living and the dead.
The Stars
Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, and Jeffrey Combs. This ensemble anchors a film that blended horror, comedy, and early digital effects work shot largely around Christchurch and Wellington.
Behind the Lens
Directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. Jackson worked from his own original story, blending horror and comedy in a way that became something of a signature.
Why NZ?
Robert Zemeckis executive-produced the film and originally intended to set it in the US, but Jackson convinced him to shoot entirely in New Zealand. The Victorian-style architecture of Lyttelton and the streets of Wellington doubled flawlessly for a quirky American town. The earthquake damage in the years since has made some of the original filming spots genuinely harder to find than they once were.
On Set
Michael J. Fox has spoken about being genuinely homesick during the shoot, to the point his agent mailed him videotapes of Friends and Seinfeld to watch on set. The experience is often cited as part of what pushed him toward returning to television work in the years after.
Legacy
This was Peter Jackson's last film before The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and has since gathered a cult following for blending horror, comedy, and early digital effects work well ahead of its time.
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